Rajendra Prasanna (; born 15 April 1956) is an Indian classical

flautist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

and

shehnai The ''shehnai'' is a type of oboe from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end. It was one of the nine instruments found in the royal court. The shehnai is sim ...

(Indian oboe) player from Benares Gharana.

Career

Rajendra was born in

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He learnt music from his father Raghunath Prasanna and from his uncles

Bholanath Prasanna Pt. Bholanath Prasanna was an Indian flute or bansuri player. Career Bholanath Prasanna was the recipient of various awards and honors including Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Academy Award (1989) Category (Shehnai) He spread and taught bansu ...

and Vishnu Prasanna. His family moved to Delhi in the early seventies, and he later became the disciple of Hafeez Ahmed Khan and Sarfaraz Hussain Khan. He also took lessons from singer Mahadev Mishra of Benares Gharana.

Performances

He performed at the

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( UK),

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

WOMAD WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, w ...

Festival (

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), World Music festival for the golden jubilee celebration for India's Independence held in America, Canada and Switzerland (U.N.O. Headquarters) in 1997,

Concert for George The Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002 as a Tributes to the Beatles, memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death. The event was organised by Harrison's widow, Olivia Harrison ...

in London (Ravi Shankar project), Opera de Lyon in France. Rajendra Prasanna playing shehnai

Awards and honors

* Top Grade Artist of All India Radio * Rajendra was the recipient of various awards and honors including the Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Academy Award - Flute & Shehnai (1995) *

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

certificate for his participation in "Concert for George" in 2004. * Lifetime Achievement Award by Sahara India. *

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

- Hindustani Instrumental - Shehnai / Flute 2017.

Discography

* ''Indian Classical Music by Rajendra Prasanna'' - T-Series * ''Flute Fantasy'' * ''Colors of life'' * ''Tribute to Pt. Raghunath Prasanna'' * ''Nirmal Sangeet'' * ''Ghoomar'' * ''Enchanting of Himalayas'' * ''A tribute to Ustad Bismillah Khan (Shehnai)'' - 2006

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prasanna, Rajendra 1956 births Living people Hindustani instrumentalists Indian flautists Bansuri players Shehnai players Musicians from Varanasi Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award